Minister for climate change Sherry Rehman announced that a hiking trail in Islamabad will be closed and converted to a leopard preservarion area on Sunday.
The minister made the announcement on Twitter on Sunday morning. She said that trail six has been declared as a ‘Leopard Preservation Park’ after nine leopards were sighted by cameras set up by wildlife authorities.
She said that Margalla Hills National Park is a national asset and is a beautiful habitat for animal and plant species.
To ensure safety for both leopards and the public, only guided tours will be allowed in this area from now on.
The minster said that the national parks had seen a 12% increase in her time. “We must return natural habitats to to forest creatures.”
The announcement comes after two leopard related incidents near Islamabad. On Wednesday, a leopard was found dead in the forest by hikers. Earlier in November, five leopards had appeared in Islamabad’s Saidpur village in search of food.
Wildlife authorities say that leopards can travel up to multiple kilometres in search of food and are unlikely to attack humans unless provoked.
